I attended the weight loss seminar this past thursday. got great information and met one of the surgeons. Finally got thorugh to my insurance company this morning and they do cover the surgery and 3 nutrtional visits.what are the nutritional visits?

I have a surgical consultation on May 2nd. very excited for that. My insurance company requires that i have a 6month drs note detailing my weight and i have to attend to bariatric support groups but that is about it. The surgeon said i need to bring a referral from my pcp when i come to the consultation. What is the referral supposed to say?

If i complete the insurance reqirements and all the testing needed how long does the whole process take?

3 nutritional visits take 3 months. During this 3 months you will be put thru many tests and I mean many. Then when you get approved thru insurance it is up to how busy your surgeon is. I started June 28 and finally had surgery Nov 28. 5 months.

From my experience, the nutrition visits are when you meet with the nutritionist to discuss your diet and nutrition needs. My surgeon required at pre-op nutrition class, and nutrition visits at two weeks, three months, six months, and one year in addition to appointments with him.

what they said above...also, the referral from your pcp is likely to detail your BMI, and any co-morbidities that you may have due to your weight, and your general health and whether you are a good candidate for the surgery... good luck!

The referral from your PCP is for insurance reasons. Your surgeon can probably offer a sample referral letter (mine did). I had to meet with a nutritionist before surgery to discuss my pre-op diet as well as my diet immediately after. I also met with the nutritionist the day after my surgery to make sure I understood the post-op diet. I met with the nutritionist again at 3 months or so to discuss my plans for when I was on a "normal" diet. It mostly concerned how to read food labels and discussing smarter choices.

I didn't have to have any time-related requirements to qualify for surgery (like 6 months of documented weight loss attempts). I did have to meet with a psychiatrist, have a endoscopy and a sleep study as well as the nutritionist appointment. I was able to get these done very quickly, so I had surgery a little over 5 weeks after attending my original meeting. Once everything was set, it was just a matter of finding a time that worked for me.